The Health Industry
Bar Code Standard:
Frequently asked questions
What is HIBCC and the HIBC Standard?
HIBCC is the Health Industry Business Communications Council, the primary standard-setting and
educational organization for bar coding in the world of healthcare. We were founded in 1983 by a
consortium of national trade associations specifically to develop an approach to labeling that would
fulfill the unique requirements of our industry. The Health Industry Bar Code (HIBC) Standard is the
result of that effort.
Millions of products bearing the HIBC Standard label are now found throughout the industry and the
world. In Europe the standard has been accredited for use by the European Committee for
Standardisation (CEN), and is administered by the European Health Industry Business
Communications Council (EHIBCC), our companion organization. Major exporting manufacturers on
the Pacific rim such as the Fuji, Konica Corporation, and the Terumo Corporation all have HIBC
labeler identification codes.
In the US the HIBC standard data structure meets all current specifications for the Universal Product
Number (UPN) initiative now underway, as well as the recent US Department of Defense initiative.
Companies using the HIBC labeling format are thus already in full compliance with voluntary
standards in the institutional healthcare supply channel. Those which have not yet begun labeling
should review the following prior to selecting a labeling format.
Why does healthcare need its own labeling standard?
The Health Industry Bar Code Standard was created because the health industry is unique. Unlike
most other industries, healthcare products have special human safety requirements, are routinely
monitored by government regulators, and are often “purchased” indirectly (through insurance claims)
for patients in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. As a consequence, labels must be as error-free
as possible, must contain additional information, and must satisfy greater needs than those commonly
found in point-of-sale environments such as grocery check-out counters.
By utilizing the HIBC format, manufacturers and distributors are meeting these requirements while
simultaneously using the system which best suits their own internal needs.
In short, everyone in the supply channel benefits from the HIBC Standard.
What are the advantages of the HIBC Standard?
•
It is the established and prevalent standard for healthcare product
identification.
The HIBC Standard was developed and is maintained by a consortium of expert, voluntary
participants from all segments of the healthcare supply-information channel, including healthcare
facilities. This assures that the healthcare facility is enabled — not restricted — by the standard.
Although other bar code formats, such as the GTIN (formally called the Uniform Product Code. or
U.P.C./EAN) are found on healthcare products which are also sold in retail environments, they have
limited usefulness within institutional environments.
•
It is designed to allow you to use your own product identifiers.
The HIBC Standard accommodates virtually all types of product catalog identifiers because it allows
both alphanumeric and variable length formats. Your records and systems are based on the identifiers
that you have assigned to your items. As a consequence, if you already have an established internal
identification scheme, you will most likely be able to use it within the HIBC Standard format with no
required changes.
Bar code standards should not require you to abbreviate or convert your product/catalog identifiers.
Abbreviation or conversion in your system will require costly data-processing and programming time,
as well as the costs of changing and updating labels, files, forms, catalogs, documentation and internal
procedures.
Furthermore, errors made anywhere along the supply-information channel during these conversion
processes could not only be costly but dangerous as well. This is especially true in the event of
necessary product tracking or recalls of healthcare products subject to regulation, accountability and
government oversight.
There are several important characteristics of the HIBC Standard that allow you to control your own
labels:
•
Alphanumeric capability
The HIBC Standard accommodates bar codes that can contain both letters and numbers.
Since many product catalog identifiers include letters, conformance to an all-numeric
standard, such as the Uniform Product Code, requires that letters be converted to numbers.
•
Variable length of the product identification field
Healthcare product manufacturers have identifier systems that vary in line length. The HIBC
Standard accommodates identifiers that can contain as many as 18 characters in any alpha or
numeric combination, while other standards strictly limit product identifiers to exactly five
all-numeric characters. Furthermore, the HIBC 18-character length accommodates the use of
meaningful sub-fields within product identifiers.
•
Smaller symbol than a similar mass-market bar code
For many years, the alphanumeric, multi-length identifiers which are common in the
healthcare industry could not be used in the retail environment, where Uniform Product
Codes are prevalent. Recognizing the shortcomings of the restrictive format, the UCC has
developed a method for accommodating healthcare. However, the method requires 25% more
label space than its HIBC counterpart and still requires a unique, all numeric code assigned to
each item. For example, both of the labels below are for the same item:
HIBC
+H216040A35R
UCC
(01)5070503412345(240)0040A3
•
It is the only complete bar code solution for the entire supply chain.
The HIBC Standard describes not only how to use bar codes to identify healthcare products, but also
anything else a provider may choose to identify. Examples include patients, patient records,
specimens, employees, implantables, procedures, assets, and purchase orders.
Other bar code standards provide no support for these specific healthcare applications. And since all
HIBC bar codes were created to be compatible with each other, they form an integrated identification
solution for the industry.
•
It incorporates all package sizes.
The HIBC Standard describes how to bar code your products in all their packaging configurations,
from the largest levels of packaging down to the smallest unit of use and unit dose packages. The
HIBC Small Package Symbol is an innovation which has no counterpart in any other labeling
standard. It allows the provider to capture information at the bedside, thereby increasing its value and
usefulness within healthcare facilities.
As you will see from the following examples, using the HIBC bar code standard at all packaging
levels requires less decision making and less technical support than other standards. That is because
the HIBC bar code data structure remains consistent, regardless of the size of the package being
labeled.
Mass-market bar codes require you to use different types of formats, depending on packaging
characteristics. These “adjustments” create additional overhead in your information system, because it
must interpret each type.
Another benefit to using the consistent HIBC format is that even after bar codes are replaced with
Optical Character Recognition (OCR), you will not have to change your data or go through a costly
change in your system.
•
It is a consistent data format through each packaging level.
The HIBC bar code data format is identical for both outer cases and Stock Keeping Units (SKUs).
From one level of packaging to the next, the data elements begin and end at the same character
positions, and either of two alphanumeric bar code symbologies, Code 39 or Code 128 can be used
without the need to change any of the data.
In the examples below, the Labeler Identification Code (LIC, assigned by HIBCC) is “H216”. The
Product Catalog Number is “04083”. The following character indicates the Unit of Measure, and the
final character is the “Link Character” a check digit that can also be used to “link” with secondary
information, such as lot code and expiration date.
Note that in these examples, the length of the data is the same and the information in each symbol
begins and ends in the same character positions, even though these labels are for entirely different
package sizes.
HIBC
Bar Code for Case Level Packaging
+H2160408351
HIBC Bar Code for Stock
Keeping Unit Level Packaging
+H216040832$
By contrast, other market bar code standards require a change in symbologies at each packaging level.
Depending on the characteristics of the package, you may not be able to use the same symbology on
every packaging level.
If you plan to use a GTIN (U.P.C. or EAN) bar code, you must evaluate packaging characteristics and
market preferences to determine which of three symbologies is appropriate for each packaging level
of your product. Depending on these factors, you may not be able to use the same symbology on
every packaging level. And since each symbology has a slightly different data format, you and your
customers' systems must be programmed to accept either identifier as representing the same item.
For example, this symbol, which is 14 digits long, can be used on cases and lower levels of
packaging:
20399999004088
While this symbol, which is 12 digits long, can be used on SKUs, cases, and other levels of
packaging:
3
4
99999 - 00408
While this symbol, which is 16 digits long, can be used on cases and lower levels of packaging:
(01)10399999004081
These variations require more technical support to allow information systems personnel to properly
interpret the symbols. For example, in the above labels the starting character position for the core
product number (“9999900408”) is in three different positions:
• in the top bar code it begins at the 4th position;
• in the middle bar code it begins at the 2nd position; and
• in the bottom bar code it begins at the 6th position.
Thus, to extract the core product number from the above symbols you must utilize a far more complex
method to do so than what would be required with comparable HIBC bar codes.
How do I become a HIBC Labeler?
Contact HIBCC for a full copy of the HIBC Supplier Labeling Standard and to apply for your
company's Labeler Identification Code (LIC). This information is also available to you on the
HIBCC's World Wide Web Home Page (www.hibcc.org). HIBCC's Auto-ID Technical Committee
meets three times a year at various locations throughout the US. A schedule is available upon request
from the HIBCC office.